“Perhaps Mr. Sanders didn’t hear about Israel leaving Gaza in 2005,” Danon said.
By World Israel News Staff
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon reportedly criticized Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders on Sunday for his recent statement that part of the U.S. military aid to Israel should be diverted to the Gaza Strip for “humanitarian” purposes.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Zionist Organization of America in New York City on Sunday night, Danon is quoted by multiple news outlets as charging that Sanders “is suggesting to give less military assistance to the United States most important ally in the Middle East in order to give it to Hamas, a terrorist organization that celebrated the tragedy of 9/11.”
Danon was referring to comments made by Sanders in October at a J Street conference in Washington. The presidential contender had also repeated his assertion that policies of the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are “racist.”
The Vermont senator has also stated on a number of occasions that he would use U.S. aid to Israel as “leverage” to force the Jewish State to change policy.
On August 13, Sanders told an activist affiliated with the anti-Israel group IfNotNow that he would use the financial aid given to the Jewish State as leverage to end the “racism” in Israel.
“Israel has every right to live in peace and security, but so do the Palestinian people. The United States government gives a whole lot of money to Israel, and I think we can leverage that money to end some of the racism that we have recently seen in Israel,” he said.
“Perhaps Mr. Sanders didn’t hear about Israel leaving Gaza in 2005,” said Danon on Sunday.
“Maybe he hasn’t had the chance to visit the Kerem Shalom crossing, where hundreds of trucks pass daily to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza. Maybe he doesn’t know about the terror tunnels,” the ambassador continued in his address, referring to Israeli efforts to ensure assistance to the Gazan population despite the cross-border underground tunnels constructed by terrorists to attack Israel.
Vowing to prevent Sanders’ threats against Israel from materializing, Danon told his audience: “We will fight against these radical voices.”
“My solution is, to Israel, if you want military aid you’re going to have to fundamentally change your relationship to the people of Gaza,” Sanders told the J Street gathering.
“I would say that some of the $3.8 billion should go right now to humanitarian aid in Gaza,” he added, insisting that “my proposal in terms of Israeli-Palestinian efforts is not a radical proposal. What is going on in Gaza right now, for example, is absolutely inhumane. It is unacceptable. It is unsustainable,” he added.
After the senator made those comments, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley ridiculed Sanders, saying that he “outdid himself” in suggesting that U.S. aid meant for Israel should be siphoned to Gaza.
“Just when you thought Bernie Sanders couldn’t get any more radical, he outdid himself,” Haley tweeted at the time.